Five ways to make your project leadership fit for tomorrow

Dealing with the unforeseen is a key part of a project manager’s job. But something significant has shifted in recent years. With tech innovation just one of many factors driving change, uncertainty and complexity in projects, project management is increasingly about executing transformative projects in rapidly shifting sands.

Yet it seems not everyone is embracing innovation and transformation at the same rate.

“Despite being a profession that promotes change, we are not changing ourselves,” says Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, author of the Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook. “We’re comfortable with methods that are 50 years old, and that’s a big concern.”

For project professionals, changing how you work doesn’t just open up the potential to thrive in this new environment; it will also equip you to deliver the innovation and transformation that organisations demand.

Here are five key ways to adjust your approach for a fast-moving world…

1. Get comfortable being a beginner

To deliver the innovation and transformation being demanded of your projects, you must remain open to learning and changing yourself. According to Amy Morley, who became Chair of APM in May, adopting that attitude may not be easy. But, she says, it may be invaluable – and it’s all part of the job.

“It takes a very different mindset to go back to being a beginner around new ways of working,” says Morley. “But you have to be inquisitive about how you can continue to develop. And if you’re working in major projects, you’ve probably dealt with that your entire career – learning, changing and doing different things to move with the times.”

2. Learn to let go

Gordon Mackay, Project Management Capability Lead at Sellafield, notes how project management often attracts people who get self-esteem from exercising command and control over others. But, he says, you unlock innovation when you hand over some of that control.

“By being able to outsource much of the decision-making, you benefit from not having to be the boss all the time,” he says. “It frees up your time. You can step back, see the wood for the trees and move to a more strategic role – instead of running around telling everyone what to do.”

3. Insist on a level playing field

Hierarchy is bad for transformation work, says Nieto-Rodriguez, who suggests a vertical model is no longer fit-for-purpose in an environment of fast-paced change. “A culture which is top-down and hierarchical just slows you down,” he argues.

Project professionals need to put themselves on an equal footing with the leaders they’re working with. Nieto-Rodriguez believes this is a “big shift for many people”. It means learning to communicate more as an entrepreneur – by fighting for the project, selling the benefits and pushing the organisation to aim higher.

“It requires a stronger mindset and being comfortable talking to leaders,” he explains. “Leaders don't want to hear about schedules and Gantt charts. They want to know how the project is going to benefit them and their company.”

4. Know your ‘why’

It’s often said that people struggle with change. In fact, they may simply resist change done for its own sake. Project leaders need to be crystal clear on the rationale behind any new systems and processes, and to communicate that information clearly to their stakeholders.

Paul Chapman is Academy Director of the UK government’s Major Projects Leadership Academy. He recalls hearing similar advice from Paul Deighton, former Chief Executive of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. He says it’s the best advice he’s heard.

“Paul said that if you can't come up with a good answer to why, you're properly in trouble,” Chapman says. “If you find you've drifted, knowing the why is the thing that can bring you back to the centre. Other people might have a different version of why. That’s OK. Is your version of why over here and theirs over there? If so, that will help you understand the problem.”

5. Prioritise buy-in

New levels of complexity and uncertainty mean project delivery needs to become more adaptable. For Carl Gavin, Professor of Project Management at the University of Liverpool, the emphasis should be on how project leaders interact with their teams; again, in stark contrast to more established methods.

“In transactional leadership, managers reward people for doing the right thing,” he says. “Or they ‘hit them with a little stick’ for not doing so. This needs more visionary leadership – inspiring and motivating people to get the best out of them.

“You want people to tap into the vision of the project, and to do their best in terms of bringing the goals of the project alive. You want their beliefs and values to get them up in the morning, so they go above and beyond what you'd expect.”

Want to find out more about how to be the best kind of project leader in 2025? Check out the autumn issue of Project journal.